The Art of Gardening without Soil
Some say that hydroponic gardening is the future of gardening. Hydroponic gardening has been around for centuries! They had hanging gardens back in the 13 the century.
This method of growing food requires minimal space, half the time, and almost ninety percent less water! It is a step toward self-sufficiency and independence. It’s economical and healthy, and can be a fun family activity.
You may think you need a green thumb to grow a garden… But that’s not the case.
I’ll cover everything you need to know about how to grow your own survival garden. You can have food security & peace of mind by providing your family with bushels of fresh produce for years to come.
Just about any type of plant can be grown hydroponically, I became attracted to hydroponics because you can get larger harvests, faster growth, and less trouble with, disease, pests or poor outdoor growing conditions. Especially here in Florida where iguanas love to eat your garden.
With hydroponic gardening if the roots are exposed directly to nutrition and water, the plant would not have to exert any energy in sustaining itself. This method of farming uses only ten percent of water in comparison to traditional soil agriculture. This is possible due to its efficient recirculated system.
There are different methods of hydroponic gardening: In a water culture hydroponic system, the plants’ roots are continuously in the nutrient-rich water of the hydroponic tank.
Roots are submerged directly in nutrient-enriched water, or the plant is grown in a container filled with a soilless mixture of perlite, sand, and/or coconut fiber. Hydroponic gardening eliminates soil-related diseases.
So how do you care for your Hydroponic Garden and what supplies do you need for the method.
There are many different ways to grow hydroponically. The systems that are suitable for beginners are:
The water culture system
The wick system
Ebb and flow system
We will focus on Water Culture or Raft System. This is great for herbs, microgreens, and peppers and water hungry plants.
Materials/Tools & Equipment:
Water
Styrofoam sheet
Bucket or basin for water reservoir
Hydroponic fertilizer (liquid or dry)
Seedling in net pots
Rotary tool, drill or exacta knife (optional)
Pump and air stone
Grow light (optional)
Let’s get started!
So let’s say you have purchased a kit and added hydroponic nutrients to the water reservoir, Please fill the water reservoir with filtered—not tap—water. Tap water often contains fluoride and other chemicals that might harm your plants.
The ideal pH level is between 5.7 and 6.3. and water temperature for your hydroponic garden best between 65 to 75 degrees F.
If you are making your own at home kit: Cost of Material: $50-$100
The first step is to develop a water reservoir that is filled with nutrients. The reservoir should be placed beneath the floating styrofoam raft that holds your plants.
Next let’s imagine an aeration system that creates bubblers similar to what you find in a home aquarium. The pump allows tiny air bubbles to carry and distribute oxygen to the water. This prevents stagnant water and bacterial growth. We must the water moving. Add or change the water every few days making sure to always supply the nutrients.
Ok next we are going to cut a Styrofoam platform that could easily fit and float on top of our water reservoir. Insert plastic containers that have perforated bottoms and contain a growing medium (clay balls, perlite, coconut coir) and seedlings. The roots must make contact with the water to support the effective growth of your plants.
Final step is optional:
Set up a light fixture 24 inches above the raft. Of course, using growing lights can add an extra cost to your electricity bills.
Plants need light to trigger photosynthesis which turns energy into the sugars plants need to grow. If you need artificial light there are several types of bulbs but for the beginner fluorescent tubes are a great choice. I recommend buying LED growing lights because of their efficient power consumption.
LED systems cost more but offer several advantages that make them the better choice. Although LED bulbs cost more than fluorescents at purchase time, they use half of the electricity fluorescents require.
Traditional Soil Rich Garden
Here are some tips for a traditional soil rich garden. Most plants need 6 hours of constant sunlight. Think of the sun’s path over your yard before you start planting.
What you need are Heirloom Seeds…Only non-GMO, heirloom seeds… Meaning that your crops can be replanted over & over again.
Anyone can do it & getting started is easy… here are a few tips… Stick with the basics; most popular plants perform well for new gardeners. Plants like tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and so on. And of course… water often and make sure you’re soaking the roots at least once a week.
A good-size beginner vegetable garden is about 16 by 10 feet. It should yield enough vegetables to keep a family of four from buying produce for a summer. In a good year, there will be extra for canning and freezing.
Planting a backyard or hydroponic survival garden is an activity fully in keeping with the preparedness spirit.
If you’re considering starting a traditional survival garden, don’t decide before hand that the work will be too difficult. Or claim you don’t have a “green thumb.” Growing food is a process that can be learned by anyone. And it can be adapted to fit individuals and available land.
Here is a list of the tools and accessories you may wish to have handy to help:
Hose and adjustable nozzle — Your hose must be able to reach every part of the garden. An adjustable nozzle or rain wand lets you control the reach and pressure of the water stream
Gloves * Gardening might mean splinters, scratches and or blisters from digging.
Hoe * Great for breaking up soil, turning it and creating rows ready for planting.
With a 10 by 16 area you can farm for a family of four.
Rich foods to farm:
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Corn
Peppers
Zucchini
You can become a fine gardener over the course of only a few growing seasons.
With food pricing rising. This may be the perfect time to do it.
So many folks dismiss their ability to grow their own food. Which means they miss out on having a food source that could be their lifeline. Never lose sight of the fact that this garden may save the lives of you and your family someday.
That’s why I highly recommend you start growing a survival garden…
I hope this blog helps inspire you to start your own garden with some work, you are perfectly capable of doing it. For more blogs click SabrinaBarnett.com. I blog about ways to help heal your immune system. If you are wanting to SUPER CHARGE your body you would absolutely find my IMMUNE BOOSTERS teaching fascinating and definitely LIFE TRANSFORMING. Check it out here: